Two recent opinion editorials talk about coming to a “middle ground” compromise on the human life issue, but they each take positions that are anything but a compromise. Ellen Goodman’s piece in the Boston Globe (“Abortion’s elusive middle ground”) is decidedly pro-choice. Yuval Levin’s essay in the New York Times (“A Middle Ground for Stem Cells”) is decidedly pro-life.
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A Holy Discrimination
Reverend Bradley Schmeling is pastor of the St. John’s Lutheran Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and he is objecting to a bishop’s attempt to have him defrocked. The reason that this bishop is seeking to remove Schmeling from ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is that Schmelling is a practicing homosexual. According to the Associated Press, “Schmeling and his supporters say the policy barring sexually active gay pastors is discriminatory by forcing them to refrain from sex, while heterosexuals only have to wait for marriage.”
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Jim Wallis Fumes after President’s Speech
It is well-known that Jim Wallis is a lefty evangelical and that he opposes the American war in Iraq. I think that people of good will can have different opinions about the war. But I don’t think that Wallis’ inflammatory rhetoric is at all helpful or constructive.
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Embryos Are Babies Too?
A recent story about a new born baby in Louisiana powerfully suggests that human embryos are people too. The Associated Press reports: “Rescued from a great flood while he was a frozen embryo, a baby boy entered the world Tuesday and was named after the most famous flood survivor of them all: Noah.
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Dawn Eden and the Thrill of the Chaste
Dawn Eden has a new book out titled, The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On. She’s written a great little article for the Sunday Times of London that gives a glimpse into what her book is all about. The article is titled “Casual sex is a con: women just aren’t like men.” In it she writes,
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Orphans in the Brave New World (part 2)
I wrote earlier this week about a woman in San Antonio named Jennalee Ryan who is selling designer embryos to interested buyers who want have children. In my earlier post I noted the ethical problems associated with her business. Today the Associate Press reports that Ryan is under investigation by the FDA. People have questioned whether Ryan’s business amounts to eugenics. One section from the AP story is particularly illuminating in this regard: Ryan’s service involves a New York physician who uses donated eggs and sperm to create embryos that can be bought for $5,000 a pair. Ryan said she allows customers to choose embryos after reviewing the donors’ characteristics,…
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Meredith Vieira’s Inadvertent Pro-Life Message
Meredith Vieira did not explicitly endorse a pro-life position in her report for NBC’s Today Show. But her coverage of an amazing new 4D imaging technology speaks louder than anyone’s words. Vieira interviews a family with triplets who allowed their babies to be imaged while in utero. The pictures are detailed live-action images and show the babies “playing” with one another in the womb. According to Vieira’s report, the pictures suggest that the babies’ relationships begin to form “almost from conception.”
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A New Strategy for a Just War?
President Bush set forth his new strategy for the war in Iraq in a nationally televised speech earlier this evening (video, transcript). He said almost everything that I wanted to hear him say (and I acknowledge that people of good will can have different opinions on this issue).
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Clinton and Carter Call Liberal Baptists to Unity
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that Presidents Clinton and Carter didn’t invite the Southern Baptists to their new movement of left-leaning Baptists (read about it here). I thought about blogging on this weird presidential alliance, but I can do no better than Russell Moore has done in his excellent piece: “Bill Clinton and Baptist Unity.” Moore is right on the money with this one. Go read it.
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Orphans in the Brave New World
The Washington Post reports on a Texas based company that produces batches of ready-made human embryos to sell to interested buyers. The story says that single women, infertile couples, gay men, and lesbians will have the opportunity to take advantage of this service in order to have children of their own.